preston



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. Gr. H. PRESTON.

DE'VICE'POR CHANGING SPEED.

Patented June 17, 1884.

Inventor.'

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Patented June 17,1884.

VVITNESSES:

INVENTCR:

`motion may be transmitted UNrrEn raras ATENE @Eric GEORGE II. PRESTON, OF SHORTSVILLE,

NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR OE ONE- IIAIJF TO THE EMPIRE DRILL OOMPAN Y, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 300,734, dated June 17, 1884-.

Application filed November 23, 18.83. (No model.)

o [(,ZZ whom t may concern.- f

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. PREs'roN, of Shortsville. in the county of Ontario and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Devices for Regulating and Varying the Relative Speed of Driving and Counter Shafts, 81e.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and accurate description of the same.

It is 0renerally necessary, or at least highly desirabe, to maintain a uniform speed of the driving-shaft, and it is also frequently necessary to -actuate a machine driven by said shaft with a variable speed. This is accomplished with a variety of devices, such as cone-pulleys, change-gears, &c.-wellkno,wn mechanical expedients for the vpurpose of changing speed. There are Ialso some devices which admit of the desired change while the machine is in motion. This device I have employed to drive the feedshaft of a seeding-machine, it being highly desirable in machines of that class that the attendant shall be able to change the speed of the seedwheels without the removal of interchangeable parts and at will.

.Referring to the drawings, Figure lis a perspective of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same on line a; x. Fig. 3 represents details. Figs. 4t and 5 represent details of the clutch. Fig. 6 is a side elevation.

A is the driving-shaft, to which power and from the prime mover by any proper means. In the drawings the means for transmitting power and motion is represented bythe crank b. The shaft A is mounted and turns in suitable bearing-boxes, C.

D is the counter-shaft whereby motion is communicated directly to the mechanism whichl it is proposed to actuate. That mechanism is not shownin the drawings; but it will be understood that said mechanism derives its motion from the shaft D and moves at a uniform speed with it. Y

Upon the shaft D, I mount two or more levers, E E', as upon an axis, and also a corresponding number of disk-wheels, F F, and I provide means for automatically engaging each lever with its corresponding disk when said lever is moved in one direction, and disengaging the same when moved in the opposite direction. Means for accomplishing this end are well known, and for certain purposes there maybe a preference as to the means to be employed; but I prefer a proper friction-clutchsuch as shown-because it is silent and prompt in action and does not involve appreciable lost motion. For convenience of description only one set of levers, &c., will be referred to. I therefore construct such wheel F with alaterally projecting peripheral flange, g, over and around the edge of which a hook, 11 eX- tends, said hook being slightly larger than the edge of the flange, so that the latter may move freely through said hook when the same is in favorableposition, but be clamped between the opposite edges of the hook when in working position. The hook 71y is laid loosely upon the lever E, but kept in proper place by a cover-plate, t', or other suitable means, and a spring, j, bears against said hook to keep it always in working position, so that when the lever E is raised up the hook bites the flanges and causes the wheel F and shaft D to turn, and when said lever descends the spring j yields slightly and permits the hook to slide on the flange. A weight may sometimes be substituted for the spring j; but for general purposes the spring is to bepreferred, because .ofcompactness and promptnessof action. Another lever, G, is provided, having a movable fulcrum at k, and resting upon a cam, II, on the shaft A. The free end lof the lever G engages with thc under side ofthe lever E, and as the shaft A turns said free end andA the lever E are caused to rise and fall, and the shaft D is thereby caused to revolve. The fulcrum 7.: is made movable, so that it may be caused to approach or recede from the shaft A, and thereby vary the relative lengths of the parts ofthe lever at each side of the shaft A, and thereby vary the throw or arc described by the free end of the lever G, and this also effects a similar change in the lever E by bringing the point of engagement with said lever G nearer to or farther from the shaft D, so that it happens when the fulcrum 7c is moved the moving force is applied to both levers, either nearer to or farther from their fulcrum IOO centers, and their motions correspomlingly increased or diminished.

loinalie the l'ulcrum 7: readily movable and at all times under control of the attendant, l. attach it to ahand-lever, L, pivoted to the main frame, and provided with a handlatch, nl., working on a segment, a, to hold the lever L in any desired position. A stop is provided to arrestthe lever L and prevent it from being drawn too far backward.

rlhe wheel F and levers E and Gl are dupli Cates of the corresponding parts, F ll G. The cam ll. is also a duplicate of cam lil, but is set dill'erently upon the shaft A, so as to alternate the motions of the levers. The cams li Il are true spirals, so that,the speed of the shaft A being uniform, the speed ol` the shaft l) will be uniform also, and the cams being set so as to alternate the motion, the motion ol' shalt l) is made continuous and uniform. lily the side ot each cam there is a disk-wheel, ll? l, the radius whereof is equal to the greatest eccentricity of the cam, and both cam and disk are made movable upon the shaft- A, so that the dislcwheels may be brought under the levers G Gr', respectively, to hold them up away from the cams when it is desired to arrest the motion ol shaft l) without stopping shaft A. For this purpose the cams and their disk-wheels are controlled by the shifting-bar (Q` and its elastic forked arms r, which permit the shiftingbar to be moved in advance ofthe movement of the cams, because the cam can only move aside at that point of its revolution when it has raised the lever Fi as high as the edge of the disk-wheel. At that nioinent the elastic action ofthe arm r will cause the disk-wheel to slide under the lever. As the cams do not reach this point at the same moment, they will be separately and successively moved.

In situations where gravity will not act in the necessary direction, or when the parts are not sufficiently heavy, springs similar to the springs t may be employed to pull the levers l] down after cach elevation by the cams.

lt will appear evident from the description above that the two sets of levers shown will ilnpart to the shaft l) a continuous and unil'orm motion; but the employment of a larger number of levers and cams will accomplish that end with less variability of resistance on the shalt A, because the cams may then be made with shorter throw and a corresponding reduction ol' leverage. lt may therefore be advantageous for some purposes to employ a larger number than two.

llaving described my invention, what l. claim as new ,isr il. The shaft l), the lever E, mounted thereon as an axis, and the wheel F, provided with means whereby said lever will engage with said wheel when moved in one direction, and disengage the same when moved in the opposite direction, combined with. a device whereby power may be applied to said .le-

ver at .a variable distance from the axis el shaft l).

2. The shaft l), the wheel F, fixed thereon, and the vibrating lever lil, pivoted on said shaft, and provided with means whereby said lever will engage or disengage said wheel, according to the direction of its motion, coinbined with thelever Gr, pivoted at one end to a movable fulcrum, and a cam, lil', upon the motor-shaft A, whereby power maybe ap plied to said lever E at variable determinate distances from the axis of shaft l).

3. The shaft D and laterally-flanged wheel F, fixed thereon, combined with the lover E, pivoted to said shaft, and the clamping-hook 7L, carried loosely upon said lever, and kept in engagement with said 'flange by spring j, for the purpose set forth.

Li. The shaft D, wheel F, :fixed thereon, and the vibrating lever E, provided. with the clamping-hook 71, to engage the rim of said wheel, combined withthe lever G- and pivoted lever L, to which said lever is jointed at if', and made movable toward or away from the shaft D, and the cam ll. on shalt A, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The shaft l), with the wheels F lf", vfixed thereon, the levers E E', pivoted on said shaft, and each provided with means ['or engaging and disengaging its wheel, Vas described, combined with the corresponding levers G- Gf, pivoted to a movable fnlcrnm, 7.', and the cams 'lI ll', set upon the sl1al'ti\.so as to alternate the motions of the levers, and thereby render the motion ofthe shalt l) continuous.

The shaft D, with the wheels F F, .Iixcd thereon, the levers E E', pivoted on said shaft, and provided with means for engaging and disengaging the wheels F F', as set forth, the corresponding levers G (ir, pivoted to the l'ulcrnln 7.', combined with. cams 'lfl ll', the faces whereof are true spiral planes, and set upon the shaft A so as to alternate, whereby the speed ofthe shaft l) will be remlered con tinuous and uniform.

7. The shaft l), wheel F, lever F., with its device for engaging and disengaging said wheel, and the lever (l, pivoted at 7.1, cornbined with the cam ll and its disk-wheel l, both laterally movable upon the shaft A, whereby the lever G may be transferred to said disk-wheel and the motion of said lever arrested without stopping the driving-sha l't i S. The lever G, pivoted at 7.', cam '.lI, and dislewheel l?, laterally movable upon the sh a l't A, combined with the shifting-bzw.' and its elastic forlcarms r, as and l'or the purpose set forth.

Witnesses (Haven S. Truus, llnNnv O. 'l'lnmoio 

